LOWELL -- Jeanne D'Arc Credit Union Employees on Wednesday cut the ribbon on the their new 581 Merrimack St. office, a building they said honors the bank's legacy while looking to the future.

Jeanne D'Arc was founded farther up on Merrimack Street 102 years ago, in the basement of the former St. Jean Baptiste Church.

The new building is the credit union's sixth location on the same road, in a neighborhood they've helped work to reinvigorate.

"Because this neighborhood, the Acre, is so important to immigrants, we wanted to stay here," President and CEO Mark Cochran said after the ceremony. "And it's important to us to keep moving that forward."

Upper Merrimack Street has seen other new construction recently, with UMass Lowell's new University Crossings complex at one end.

President and CEO Mark Cochran joins Maura Clark, branch manager, and Michelle Silveira, senior vice president, in the second-floor offices of the new Jeanne D'Arc Credit Union building on Merrimack Street Wednesday. SUN/ David H. Brow

Cochran said Jeanne D'Arc is committed to making the area an "even better place" to live and work. The credit union plans to work closely with coalitions of its neighbors, he said.

The building is decorated inside with works from local artists, showing scenes of the Lowell's past and present. The large windows look out on Merrimack Street and the city beyond, and photos and artifacts artistically depict the church where the credit union was born.

"We're really just keeping our look to the future, but also a nod to the past," said Senior Vice President Michelle Silveira.

Mayor Rodney Elliott said that Jeanne D'Arc and UMass Lowell have provided anchors for revitalization in the area.

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"I think this property is certainly going to be a catalyst to continue enhancing this neighborhood," Elliott said. "I think it's a great opportunity to spawn new business growth and economic development."

Wednesday's opening comes less than a month after JDCU, the nation's fourth-oldest credit union, cut the ribbon on its ninth branch office, at 196 Littleton Road in Westford.

A new, 50,000-square-foot corporate headquarters opened in 2009 at One Tremont Place, near the Tsongas Center at UMass Lowell.

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